Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Interactive Brokers vs FXCM, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
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Interactive Brokers vs. FXCM: Interactive Brokers was founded in 1977, while FXCM began in 1999. Both are publicly traded and neither is a bank. On ForexBrokers.com’s Trust Score, Interactive Brokers earns 99/99 and FXCM scores 95/99—both sit in the 90–99 “highly trusted” range (80–89 trusted, 70–79 average risk, 60–69 high risk, under 59 not trusted).
Regulation and licenses: Interactive Brokers holds 8 Tier-1 licenses (highly trusted regulators) and 2 Tier-2 licenses (trusted regulators). FXCM holds 4 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses. In simple terms, both brokers operate under strong oversight, with Interactive Brokers carrying more top-tier approvals while FXCM still offers broad regulatory coverage.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1999 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 4 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
Interactive Brokers offers lower-cost forex pricing than FXCM for many traders, especially those who trade larger amounts or place frequent orders. IBKR uses commission-based pricing rather than marking up spreads, and during Q3 2024 the EUR/USD showed an average spread of 0.19 pips, with an estimated all-in spread of 0.59 pips after commissions. Its forex commissions start at 0.00002, or 0.2 basis points, of U.S. dollar trade value with a minimum of $2 per order ($4 round turn), though very active traders can qualify for even lower rates. Interactive Brokers is rated 5 stars and ranked #2 out of 36 brokers for Commissions and Fees.
FXCM’s forex pricing is a bit higher overall, though it can still be competitive in its commission-based accounts and through active trader discounts. Based on May 2024 data, FXCM’s EUR/USD spread averaged 0.78 pips for its EU, U.K., and Australia entities, while its commission-based accounts averaged 0.28 pips before commissions. After adding commission costs, the effective spread is closer to 0.74 pips, which is still a little higher than Interactive Brokers in this comparison. FXCM is rated 4.5 stars and ranked #17 out of 36 brokers for Commissions and Fees.
For low-cost forex trading, Interactive Brokers has the edge for most people, mainly because its commissions are clear and its overall trading costs can be lower at scale. FXCM may appeal to traders who qualify for rebates or use certain commission-based account types, but its average costs are generally higher. In short, Interactive Brokers is the better pick on commissions and fees if keeping trading costs down is your top priority.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | Starts from $50 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.226 | 0.9 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.226 | 0.8 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Interactive Brokers offers a much wider range of investments than FXCM. It gives clients access to about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, compared with FXCM’s 440 symbols and 46 forex pairs. Both brokers support forex trading, but Interactive Brokers also lets clients buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges, such as Apple and Vodafone shares. In addition, Interactive Brokers allows the purchase of actual cryptocurrency, while FXCM does not.
FXCM does offer a few features that Interactive Brokers does not, including copy trading and cryptocurrency CFDs. However, for overall investment choice, Interactive Brokers comes out ahead with a 5-star Range of Investments rating and a #1 ranking out of 36 brokers from ForexBrokers.com, while FXCM is rated 4.5 stars and ranked #21. If your main goal is access to a broader selection of markets and assets, Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 440 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 46 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | No | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
Interactive Brokers and FXCM both give traders a wide choice of platform options, including free paper trading, a proprietary platform, a Windows desktop app, and a web-based platform. Each also lets you place trades directly from a chart, which is helpful if you like to act fast while watching price movement. ForexBrokers.com rates both brokers 5 out of 5 for Trading Platforms and Tools, showing that each offers a strong setup for active traders.
The main difference is in extras. FXCM supports copy trading and MetaTrader 4 (MT4), while Interactive Brokers does not offer either. Neither broker supports MetaTrader 5 (MT5). In ForexBrokers.com’s ranking for Trading Platforms and Tools, Interactive Brokers comes in at #2 out of 36 brokers, ahead of FXCM at #4, making Interactive Brokers the slightly stronger pick overall for platform and tool quality.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 115 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Interactive Brokers and FXCM both offer mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android, along with stock or forex price alerts, watchlist syncing, and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. This means either broker can work well for traders who want to monitor markets and manage positions from a phone or tablet. In terms of overall quality, Interactive Brokers has the edge, earning a 5-star rating for Mobile Trading Apps and ranking #4 out of 36 brokers, while FXCM is rated 4.5 stars and ranks #16.
Where the two differ most is charting depth and drawing convenience. Interactive Brokers offers 155 technical studies in its mobile app, compared with 59 at FXCM, which may matter more to traders who rely on chart analysis. On the other hand, FXCM has one useful shortcut that Interactive Brokers does not: drawings on charts auto-save in the mobile app. If you want more chart tools and a higher-rated app overall, Interactive Brokers stands out; if auto-saving chart drawings is important, FXCM has a small practical advantage.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 59 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Interactive Brokers and FXCM both give traders a solid set of market research features. Each one offers daily market commentary, forex news from major sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones, Trading Central tools, sentiment data that shows long and short positioning, TipRanks research, and an economic calendar for tracking global events. Neither broker includes Autochartist tools, so in that area they are the same.
The key difference is that Interactive Brokers goes a step further with Acuity Trading tools such as Signal Centre, while FXCM does not. That extra coverage helps explain why Interactive Brokers earns a higher research score, with 5 stars and a #3 ranking out of 36 brokers, compared with FXCM’s 4.5 stars and #11 ranking.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | No |
| Trading Central | Yes | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | Yes |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
For beginners looking for help learning the basics, both Interactive Brokers and FXCM offer a wide range of educational material. Each broker provides forex and CFDs education with at least 10 pieces of content on those topics, along with monthly online client webinars and plenty of beginner-focused videos, as well as advanced videos for traders who want to keep learning. That means either platform gives new traders a solid place to start and room to grow as their skills improve.
Still, Interactive Brokers comes out ahead overall for education. It earns a perfect 5-star education rating and ranks #1 out of 36 brokers in the Education category at ForexBrokers.com, while FXCM receives 4.5 stars and ranks #13. In simple terms, both brokers support learning well, but Interactive Brokers offers the stronger educational experience for beginners who want more guidance and deeper learning tools.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
|
FXCM
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than FXCM. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while FXCM finished with an overall rank of #10.
Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted multi-asset broker with an extensive offering of tradeable global markets. It delivers competitive fees and high-quality research and education, as well as a modern, institutional-grade trading platform suite.
| Feature |
Interactive Brokers
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FXCM
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| Trust Score | 99 | 95 |
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Interactive Brokers vs FXCM: Interactive Brokers allows investors to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency but does not offer cryptocurrency CFDs, while FXCM offers cryptocurrency CFDs but does not support buying delivered crypto.
Interactive Brokers vs FXCM deposit and withdrawal options: both offer ACH/SEPA and bank wire transfers, FXCM additionally supports PayPal and Skrill while Interactive Brokers does not, and Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified for either broker.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | FXCM Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
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| Regulation | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | |
| Year Founded | 1977 | 1999 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 4 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | |||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 8500 | 440 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 90 | 46 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | No | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.226 | 0.9 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.226 | 0.8 | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | No | Yes |
| Funding | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | Starts from $50 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | No | |
| cTrader | No | No |
| Trading Tools | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 155 | 115 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 155 | 59 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | No | |
| Trading Central | Yes | Yes | |
| TipRanks | Yes | Yes | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | FXCM Review |
| Overall | Interactive Brokers | FXCM | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Interactive Brokers Review | FXCM Review |
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